Advances in semiconductor manufacturing technologies have resulted in dramatically increased circuit packing densities and higher speeds of operation. In turn these advances have provided designers with the ability to produce many sensor, processor and communication functions that were not previously practical. In some instances these functions are combined in a single highly integrated device. In other instances these functions are partitioned into two or more devices or chips.
One result of the improvement in semiconductor manufacturing technologies has been the development of MEMS-based accelerometers and gyroscopes. The use of accelerometers, or accelerometers in combination with gyroscopes, to sense motion is known.
Another result of the improvement in semiconductor manufacturing technologies has been the development of Near Field Communication (NFC) circuits, systems and applications. Products incorporating NFC communication capabilities are sometimes referred to in the field as NFC-enabled. For example, mobile phones or handsets that include NFC communication capabilities are referred to as NFC-enabled. NFC communication allows two similarly equipped devices to exchange data with each other over short distances. Although a strict definition for the range of short distances is not agreed upon in the field, short range for NEC usually is thought of as being less than 4 cm, or within one wavelength of the selected communication frequency.
The short range communication capability of NFC-enabled devices makes them well-suited for applications such as making payments by placing the NFC-enabled device in close proximity to an NFC reader device. However, the ease of using these payment features of NFC-enabled devices raises concerns about the security with respect to unauthorized payments and loss of sensitive financial data.
What is needed are methods and apparatus for controlling the functionality and performance of electronic components such as NFC communication devices to improve security with respect to unauthorized payments and loss of sensitive financial data.
The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the reference number.